What began as a simple request to support Wastech’s decision to decrease public access to the Residential Drop Off (RDO) turned into a discussion at the Cache Creek Council table about what the Village would do when Wastech cuts its landfill operation back to four days per week.
They are trying to harmonize the operation of the RDO with the operation of the landfill, Mayor John Ranta said about the request at a Dec. 8 Council meeting, adding that the landfill will also be cutting back to four days per week.
“I'd rather have harmonizing with the citizens of Cache Creek,” said Coun. Wyatt McMurray.
The request from Wastech, in a letter dated Dec. 2, proposed a reduction in service for the RDO from seven days per week to four days per week, from Wednesday to Saturday, eight hours a day from Oct. 1 to March 31. The proposed summer hours would be five days per week, Tuesday to Saturday, eight hours per day from Apr. 1 to Sept. 30.
Councillors Herb Hofer and David Dubois felt that both Saturday and Sunday were needed for residents to dispose of yard and house cleanup waste.
“Can we dump on a day the landfill is closed?” asked Coun. McMurray. “This will have impact on Ashcroft and the Bands” who deposit their garbage at the landfill.
The letter, signed by Wastech General Manager anet Tecklenborg, also states: “Since Metro Vancouver’s Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan was approved by the Ministry of Environment in 2011, the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) delivered to CCLF has significantly decreased. The MSW tones to Cache Creek decreased from 400,000 tonnes in 2010 to 200,000 tonnes in 2014. Metro Vancouver is directing the MSW flow to CCLF to decrease to 160,000 tonnnes in 2015.”
Ranta said the decrease in operations from seven to four days will also affect employment.
Council decided to defer any action on Wastech’s request until they’ve had a chance to meet with Wastech management to discuss what the impact of reduced operation will have on Cache Creek and the surrounding area.
When the landfill was created in 1989, Metro Vancouver was shipping 500,000 tonnes of garbage annually. Their contract with Wastech to operate the landfill ends in 2016.